GoFundMe for George Floyd family becomes the biggest of all time at $14,640,700 and counting

The killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled directly on his neck has angered the US.

The tape that captured the event horrified Floyd’s family, his brother Philonise Floyd wrote in a GoFundMe, he wrote on GoFundMe account which was established on his behalf by his lawyer’s office on May 27.

Floyd died in Minneapolis, but the family is originally from Houston. Philonise Floyd was hoping to raise $1.5 million to pay for the family’s considerable legal and travel expenses as well as to help support and educate Floyd’s children. Philonise Floyd says that 100% of the money collected will go to the family and that the GoFundMe is being managed by the family’s law firm.

The communications manager from the law firm that set up the fund, Adner Marcelin of Ben Crump Law, confirmed this to Business Insider: “Our office is contingency fee based so fees for our legal services derive for any recovery obtained for the family (i.e. – the civil law suit). The funds raised here were transferred to Mr. Floyd’s brother, as stated clearly in the fundraiser. They will be distributed according to his family’s wishes,” Marcelin said.

The family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, has become one of the nation’s most recognizeable and prominent civil rights attorney since he represented Trayvon Martin’s family in 2012. He is also currently representing Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

With the global attention, including a shout-out to the fund by former President Barack Obama, the GoFundMe has quickly ratcheted up into the millions. As of this writing, the fund had raised over $13.7 million and was still climbing by the minute.

“Our hearts are overwhelmed!” Philonise Floyd wrote in reaction to the 493,000 donors who had contributed.

At the same time, George Floyd’s younger sister, Bridgett Floyd, also launched a GoFundMe campaign. She was hoping to raise $5,000 to help her pay for traveling and other expenses associated with his memorial. That fund raised over $377,080 before she deactivated it. She is no longer accepting donations.

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ETI